Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Love Note

Greg strutted from
the grocery store with his fresh six pack of beer and unlocked his flashy
street car parked in the handicapped spot. The six pack sat in the front seat
next to him as he roared out of the parking lot, making his engine rumble the
whole mile back to his house.

The neighborhood was
eerily quiet once Greg silenced his engine. He slammed the driver's door after
he got out, unaware of the peace he was disturbing. He swaggered up to the
front door and turned the handle hard to let himself in. He was surprised to find
the door locked. Sheila usually left it unlocked for him when he came home in
the evenings. The beer bottles clinked in one hand as he fumbled for the keys
in his pocket with his other hand. Once he got the door opened, he called out
Sheila's name.

There was no
response.

"Where are
you?"

His booming question received no response.

For the first time
Greg could hear the silence. There were no kids playing outside, no dogs
barking, no lawnmowers running, and no wife making dinner. Greg made his way
into the kitchen and looked around. Everything looked clean and put away. Even
the table was cleared of its usual clutter except for a conspicuous envelope
with Greg's name on it.

He snatched up the
enveloped and opened it to find Sheila's wedding ring and a note inside. He
didn't need to read the note to guess the message, but he watned to know any
details as to the reason Sheila had left him.

Greg,

I
love you. Your behavior towards me has made it clear that you do not feel the
same way towards me. I'm going to find somewhere I can be loved.

Sheila

Greg sank into the
closest kitchen chair and reread the note a dozen times. It didn't make any more sense to him the twelfth time than it did the first, but he kept rereading because he couldn't think of anything else to do.